CRM 210 Ch. 4 Readings

What do laws do?

- maintain order in society - regulate human interaction - enforce moral beliefs - define the economic environment - enhance predictability - support the powerful - promote orderly social change - sustain individual rights - redress wrongs - identify wrongdoers - mandate punishment and retribution

Rule of Law includes these elements:

-Freedom from private lawlessness provided by the legal system of a politically organized society -A relatively high degree of objectivity in the formulation of legal norms and a like degree of evenhandedness in their application -Legal ideas and juristic devices for the attainment of individual and group objectives within the bounds of ordered liberty -Substantive and procedural limitations on governmental power in the interest of the individual for the enforcement of which there are appropriate legal institutions and machinery

Criminal Law Administrative Law Statutory Law Civil Law Case Law Common Law

1) Also known as penal law define wrongs commited against society and specify punishments. 2) government regulations for industries business and individuals, laws related to health codes pollution restrictions and building codes. 3) written or codified laws includes substantive and procedural laws 4) more concerned with assessing liability than with intent governs relationships between people, businesses, and organizations. 5) Also known as law of precedent. comes from judicial decisions. 6) Unwritten law law originating from usage and custom.

Entrapment Double Jeopardy Selective Prosecution Denial of a Speedy Trial

1) Improper or illegal inducement to a crime by enforcement agents. Goes beyond merely providing an opportunity for someone to commit a crime. 2) An acquitted defendant may not be tried again for the same offense Based on a guarantee in the 5th amendment 3) Prosecution is unfairly based on an arbitrary, discriminatory attribute. Based on the 14th amendment equal protection guarantee. 4) Purpose is to prevent languishing in jail. Based on a guarantee in the 6th amendment.

Statuatory Law Common Law

1) Written or codified law the law on the books results from legislative actions 2) law originating from usage and custom unwritten law includes precedents established by courts

2 Types of Mistake (excuse)

1) mistake of law 2) mistake of fact

4 categories of defenses

1. Alibi 2. Justifications 3. Excuses 4. Procedural defenses

guilty but mentally ill (GBMI)

A GBMI verdict means that a person can be held responsible for a specific criminal act even though a degree of mental incompetence may be present in his or her personality. (1) every element necessary for a conviction has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, (2) the defendant is found to have been mentally ill at the time the crime was committed, and (3) the defendant was not found to have been legally insane at the time the crime was committed.

double jeopardy

A common law and constitutional prohibition against a second trial for the same offense.

procedural defenses

A defense that claims that the defendant was in some significant way discriminated against in the justice process or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed in the investigation or prosecution of the crime charged.

Justifications

A legal defense in which the defendant admits to committing the act in question but claims it was necessary in order to avoid some greater evil. (1) self-defense, (2) defense of others, (3) defense of home and property, (4) necessity, (5) consent, and (6) resisting unlawful arrest.

excuses

A legal defense in which the defendant claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law. (1) duress, (2) age, (3) mistake, (4) involuntary intoxication, (5) unconsciousness, (6) provocation, (7) insanity, (8) diminished capacity, and (9) mental incompetence.

Legal Cause

A legally recognizable cause. A legal cause must be demonstrated in court in order to hold an individual criminally liable for causing harm.

Infraction (Offenses)

A minor violation of state statute or local ordinance punishable by a fine or other penalty or by a specified, usually limited, term of incarceration.

void for vagueness

A reason for invalidating a statute where a reasonable person could not determine a statute's meaning.

Law

A rule of conduct or standard of behavior established by proper authority, society, or custom

Felonies:

A serious criminal offense punishable by a prison sentence of more than one year

Crime's 3 Elements:

An act in violation of criminal law a guilty mind the concurrence

Unconsciousness

An individual cannot be held responsible for anything he or she does while unconscious. However, people afflicted with sleepwalking, epileptic seizure, or neurological dysfunction may unintentionally cause injuries to others.

First degree murder elements:

An unlawful killing Of a human being Intentionally With planning (or "malice aforethought")

Criminal Negligence

Behavior in which a person fails to reasonably perceive substantial and unjustifiable risks of dangerous consequences.

motive

Cause for action

Which of the following statements regarding civil law is true?

Civil law contains rules for contracts, divorces, and the creation of wills.

_______ is a traditional body of unwritten historical precedents created from everyday social customs, rules, and practices.

Common Law

Judith is a bank teller. Her two daughters are kidnapped, and the kidnapper threatens to kill them both. Judith steals money from the bank to pay the ransom. What defense is Judith most likely to use when charged with embezzlement?

Duress

Involuntary Intoxication

Either drugs or alcohol may produce intoxication. A person might be tricked into consuming an intoxicating substance.

Philip is walking home when Brenda, a prostitute, offers her services. He turns her down multiple times, and then breaks. When he does, she tuns out to be an undercover cop and arrests him. What defense is Philip likely to use in this situation?

Entrapment.

Diminished capacity is an example of which type of defense?

Excuse

General Categories of Criminal Law Violations

Felonies, misdemeanors, infractions, treason, espionage, and inchogate offenses.

Incompetent to stand trial

In criminal proceedings, a finding by a court that as a result of mental illness, defect, or disability, a defendant is incapable of understanding the nature of the charges and proceedings against him or her, of consulting with an attorney, and of aiding in his or her own defense.

Insanity Defense Reform Act (IDRA).

Insanity under the law is now defined as a condition in which the defendant can be shown to have been suffering under a "severe mental disease or defect" and, as a result, "was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts."

Collateral Estoppel

Issue preclusion: Once an issue of fact or law has been decided by one court, the parties to that action are barred from relitigating that issue in another action

Which of the following statements best defines jurisprudence?

Jurisprudence is the philosophy of law or the science and study of the law.

Statuatory Law

Law by the books

Milo and Simon are next-door neighbors. Milo lent Simon a lawn mower and some gardening tools. When Simon returned them, the mower was severely damaged. Simon refused to pay for the damage and Milo became very angry and stabbed Simon with the gardening shears, killing him. The prosecutor wants to charge Milo with first-degree murder. Which element of first-degree murder is missing?

Malice

Luis is charged with burglary because while snowboarding he ran out of gas and broke into a cabin to get some. What defense is he using?

Necessity.

Joan leaves son in car on hot day and he dies. What kind of mens rea is this?

Negligent

Criminal law

The body of rules and regulations that define and specify the nature of and punishments for offenses of a public nature or for wrongs committed against the state or society. Also called penal law.

Substantive criminal law

The part of the law that defines crimes and specifies punishments. such as: murder, rape, robbery, assault, etc.

Penal Code (Criminal Law)

The written form of the criminal law.

Alibi

a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place. best supported by witnesses and documentation

second-degree murder

a crime of passion

mens rea

a culpable mental state

ex post facto law

a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed

law of precedent (Case Law)

a legal principles that ensures that previous judicial decisions are authoritatively considered and incorporated into future cases.

Provocation

a person can be emotionally enraged by another who intends to elicit just such a reaction

alter ego rule

a person can defend a third party only under circumstances and only to the degree that the third party could act.

M'Naghten rule

a person is not guilty of a crime if, at the time of the crime, the person either didn't know what he or she was doing or didn't know that what he or she was doing was wrong. The inability to distinguish right from wrong must be the result of some mental defect or disability.

Intent

a state of mind in which someone desires to carry out a wrongful action, knows what the results will be, and is reckless regarding the consequences

Tort

a wrongful act, damage, injury, not involving a breach of contract.

knowing

action undertaken with awareness.

reckless

activity that increases a risk of harm

Graystone Alpha Inc. has a steel-manufacturing plant that was found to be emitting excessively high levels of toxic gas. This is an example of a breach of _______.

administrative law

Fred is charged with burglary. His attorney presents witnesses and evidence that he was out of town at the time of the crime. Which defense is Fred using?

alibi

Entrapment

an improper or illegal inducement to crime by enforcement agents.

Steve receives a ticket for not wearing a seat belt while driving. Which category of crime is depicted in this case?

an infraction

Misdemeanor

an offense less serious than a felony and which may be punished by a fine or sentence to a local prison for less than one year

Duress (coercion)

any unlawful threat or coercion used by a person to induce another to act (or to refrain from acting) in a manner he or she otherwise would not (or would)

Police Fraud

available to defendants victimized by the police through planted evidence, the fabrication of "facts" uncovered during police investigations, and false arrests.

corpus delicti

body of the crime. a person cannot be tried for a crime unless it can first be shown that the offense has, in fact, occurred.

Western's Five Additional Principles

causation, resulting harm, the principle of legality, the principle of punishment, and necessary attendant circumstances.

causation

concurrence of a guilty mind and a criminal act may cause harm.

Defense

consists of evidence and arguments offered by the defendant to show why he or she should not be held liable for a criminal charge.

Winston was arrested by the police while in possession of gasoline and lighter fluids outside a burning building. The fire marshal finds that the fire was set deliberately using gasoline as an accelerant. The prosecutor has the required ______ to charge Winston with arson.

corpus delicti

Inchoate offenses

crimes that are not yet completed, conspiracies.

Age (excuses)

defense of "infancy"

Insanity

defense on mental illness or mental incapacity

Prosecutorial Misconduct

describe actions undertaken by prosecutors that give the government an unfair advantage or that prejudice the rights of a defendant or a witness.

Diminished capacity

evidence of an abnormal mental condition in people that causes criminal charges against them requiring intent or knowledge to be reduced to lesser offenses requiring only reckless or criminal neglect. (A) understand the wrongfulness of the behavior comprising the offense or to exercise the power of reason; or (B) control behavior that the defendant knows is wrongful

John was convicted of three counts of rape of his former girlfriend, Trisha, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. John was convicted of a(n)_______.

felony

nondeadly force

force that is unlikely to cause death or significant bodily harm

Civil law

governs relationships between and among people, businesses, and agencies of the government. It contains rules for contracts, divorces, child support and custody, the creation of wills, property transfers, negligence, libel, unfair practices in hiring, the manufacture and sale of consumer goods with hidden hazards for the user, and many other contractual and social obligations.

elements

in a specific crime, specified by law.

Strict Liability

liability without fault. requires no culpable mental state and presents a significant exception to the principle that all crimes require a concurrence of actus reus and mens rea.

Procedural defenses

make the claim that the defendant was in some manner discriminated against in the justice process, or that some important aspect of official procedure was not properly followed. (1) entrapment, (2) double jeopardy, (3) collateral estoppel, (4) selective prosecution, (5) denial of a speedy trial, (6) prosecutorial misconduct, and (7) police fraud.

selective prosecution

may be available where two or more individuals are suspected of criminal involvement, but not all are actively prosecuted. basis of some arbitrary and discriminatory attribute, such as race, sex, friendship, age, or religious preference, this defense may offer protection.

Rachel is a suspect in a shoplifting case. She confesses that the store owner's antagonistic behavior prompted her to commit the crime. Which feature of a crime does this scenario illustrate?

motive

force

physical force and does not extend to emotional, psychological, economic, psychic, or other forms of coercion.

Parties in civil suit are called

plantiff

Sister shoots brother after threatening him in the heat of an argument. What kind of mens rea is this?

purposeful

Four types of mens rea

purposeful, knowing, reckless, negligent

Rule of law

society must adhere to known codes that are applied fairly to all. No one is above the law.

stare decisis

standing by decided matters.

You have moved to Belagria, a country that uses a system of written or codified laws that result from legislative action. The "law on the books" that the government of Belagria enacts is known as _______.

statutory law

Two types of Statuatory Laws:

substantive criminal law procedural law

Espionage

the act of spying, especially a government spy obtaining secrets of another government. Hurting national security. .

Administrative Law

the body of regulations that governments create to control the activities of industries, businesses, and individuals

Procedural Law

the body of rules governing the manner in which legal claims are enforced. General rules of evidence, search and seizure, procedures to be followed in an arrest, trial procedures, and other specified processes by which the justice system operates

Treason

the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.

actus reus

the criminal act

reasonable force

the degree of force that is appropriate to protect the police officer or other citizens and is not excessive

attendant circumstances

the facts surrounding an event

deadly force

the highest degree of force, is considered reasonable only when used to counter an immediate threat of death or great bodily harm.

Case Law

the law that is establised by judicial decisions

temporary insanity

the offender claims to have been insane only at the time of the commission of the offense.

Void for Overbreadth

the principle that laws go too far in that they criminalize legally protected behavior in an attempt to make some other behavior illegal that cannot be upheld

Senator Smith was tried in federal district court for accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions to his senatorial campaign committee. Despite his wealth and political status, Senator Smith was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. The above scenario is an example of ______ at work in the American criminal justice system.

the rule of law

Jurisprudence

the study or philosophy of law

Manslaughter, or third-degree murder

the unlawful killing of a human being

Clark wants to kill Brian, his drug dealer. While driving to Brian's house, he fantasizes about how he will commit the crime. However, four blocks from Brian's house, a speeding SUV runs a red light and rams into Clark's car. Brian is a passenger in the SUV and is killed instantly. Although Clark was planning to kill Brian, he cannot be prosecuted for Brian's death because _____.

there is no concurrence.

Denial of a speedy trial

to prevent unconvicted and potentially innocent people from languishing in jail. They generally set a reasonable period, such as 90 or 120 days following arrest.

Common Law

traditional body of unwritten laws, which are formed from social customs, rules, and practices.

purposeful

undertaken to achieve some goal

two aspects to the corpus delicti of an offense:

(1) that a certain result has been produced, and (2) that a person is criminally responsible for its production